Friday, August 31, 2007

Jews, Hindus in Bay Area discover common ground

aug 31st, 2007

a tactical alliance with jews is a great idea. but unfortunately, hindus will get all excited and rush into hindu-jew-bhai-bhai just as j nehru et al rushed into hindi-uknowhu-bhai-bhai.

a little circumspection would be most welcome. jews are not hindus' forever ally, but a group that some similar concerns to deal with right now. right now it's mutually beneficial to have common cause with them, but there are circumstances in which their goals diverge, and then hindus should not just back them blindly. issue-based, sensible, support: the essence of enlightened self-interest.

one thing hindus can learn from jews: contribute lots of money to hindu causes, especially things that have a good chance of becoming exemplary victories (such as the CAPEEM lawsuit). and then go to court all the time. jews have turned this into a fine art with jewish lawyers offering pro bono support to the b'nai b'rith and the jewish anti-defamation league.

When Rabbi Charles Familant agreed to marry a Los Gatos couple in June, he found out he would be sharing the job with a Hindu priest. And he'd be barefoot. That's because the bride, from a Hindu family, and the groom, from a Jewish one, had chosen a ceremony blending elements from both of their cultures. Following Hindu custom, the couple circled a sacred fire, her Indian sari tied to his Jewish prayer shawl, as the rabbi and the pundit intoned their blessings, one in Hebrew and the other in Sanskrit.